What NOT to forget when Buying a Home

 

 

10 things most people forget to check when viewing a home for sale

 

 

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🔴Buyer Beware 🔴

🔴Buyer Beware 🔴

If you have purchased Property and receive a notice like this please know it’s NOT legit! You do not have to pay $86 to an out of state company for a copy of your deed. Just visit the county recorder in the courthouse of the county you made your purchase for a copy + it’s like $.50 a page! #nuggetofknowledge #themoreuknow #buyers #realestate #realestateagent 

4 Things NOT to Do When Putting Your Home on the Market

So you’ve put your home on the market. Congratulations! As you start checking things off your to-do list, it’s also important to pay mind of what NOT to do.

Source: 4 Things NOT to Do When Putting Your Home on the Market

Staging Your Home Like A Pro

 

Follow these five professional tips to make your space more functional and enjoyable to live in – whether you’re selling it or staying put.

 

1. Clean and de-clutter – A clean house speaks volumes and gives the impression it’s usually clean. So crank up Pandora, find your favorite station and get to cleaning!
2. Light It Up – For a warm glow, aim for 100 watts per 50 square feet. Open those windows and showcase the natural light too!
3. Refresh your palette – Updating paint colors to meet current trends and is great (and cost effective) way to change the overall look of your home. Just be sure the new color coordinates with existing features.
4. Curb Appeal Matters – First impressions are so important! Simple things such as power washing your home, pulling weeds, adding flowers, or even trimming the shrubs make a huge difference visually.
5. Do a scent check – Do you smell that? Just because you love Yankee candles newest fragrance doesn’t mean a potential buyer won’t be overwhelmed by the smell. Choosing a “clean” scent is best if you need to use an air freshener.

 

G Team

Cumberland Real Estate

121 Public Square

Lebanon, TN 37087

http://www.GTeamTN.com

 

Sources: Wells Fargo Volume 8 Issue 5 Newsletter

You can never be “too safe”

You’ve just listed your home with an agent, For Sale sign in the yard, and you get a knock at the door from a stranger wanting to look at your home.  STOP!  Never, I repeat Never, let a stranger into your home in this manner.  Yes, your home is for sale but, there are proper channels for buyers to view your home.

According to realtracs.com when your property is marketed with an agents help, you do not have to allow strangers into your home.  Agents will pre-screen and accompany qualified prospects through your property.

So, if your ever faced with this situation you can kindly let the person(s) know that he/she should contact the agent for a showing.  You can never be “too safe.”

 

Melanie Dillon

Why should I refinance?

Positive statements by the Federal Reserve Board regarding the pace of future hikes in interest rates and the release of weak employment data have served to bring rates down moving into the spring selling season. This unexpected move in rates give Americans a unique opportunity to save money through refinancing or making their new dream home more affordable. From mid-September of last year to early-April of this year, Freddie Mac has reported that average rates on a 30-year fixed loan have moved down slightly more than one-half of one percent. This amounts to a savings of more than $1,500 annually for a $300,000 mortgage and $45,000 over the life of the mortgage. Recently, Black Knight Financial Services found that, in light of recent interest rate decreases on home loans, 7.1 million Americans would currently benefit by refinancing. In addition, Zillow has reported that 5.2 million renters are planning to purchase a home in the next year. Sources: Freddie Mac, Zillow & HousingWire

Fifty-four percent of for-sale listings of existing homes are within reach for a median-income household in the U.S., according to a new analysis by realtor.com®. Their analysts used the national median income of $51,801 to determine how many of the site’s 1.6 million listings would be affordable to an average family, while also assuming a 20 percent down payment and 30-year fixed-rate mortgage. The monthly payment couldn’t exceed 28 percent of the family’s income. “So far this year we are hearing from home shoppers that finding a home that meets their needs or budget is the biggest impediment to buying,” says Jonathan Smoke, realtor.com®’s chief economist. “The good news from this data is that more than half of the listings nationwide are by definition affordable.” Realtor.com® analysts also found that existing homes tended to be much more affordable than new homes. In February, realtor.com® had more than 7,700 actively selling new-home communities listed, with an inventory of nearly 57,000 homes available for sale. Only 21 percent of those new homes, however, were deemed affordable. Source: realtor.com®

As Millennials begin to enter the homebuying market in larger numbers, homes will get a little smaller, laundry rooms will be essential, and home technology will become increasingly prevalent, said panelists during an International Builders’ Show press conference on home trends and Millennials’ home preferences. NAHB Assistant Vice President of Research Rose Quint predicted that the growing numbers of first-time homebuyers will drive down home size in 2015. Three million new jobs were created in 2014, 700,000 more than the previous year “and the most since 1999,” Quint said. At the same time, regulators have reduced downpayment requirements for first-time homebuyers from five percent to three percent and home prices have seen only moderate growth. “All these events lead me to believe that more people will come into the market, and as younger, first-time buyers, they will demand smaller, more affordable homes,” Quint said. “Builders will build whatever demand calls out for.” Of the Top 10 features mentioned by home builders, four have to do with energy efficiency: Low-E windows, Energy Star-rated appliances and windows and programmable thermostats. The top features: a master bedroom walk-in closet and a separate laundry room.

Source: National Mortgage Professional

Rent is HOW MUCH?!

The rent may indeed be “too darn high,” but it’s only going up, according to a new report from online real estate listing service Zillow. According to new analysis from Zillow, U.S. renters paid $441 billion in rent in 2014, up $20.6 billion from 2013’s total of $420.4 billion. That represents an increase of 4.9%. Accounting for an estimated 770,000 additional U.S. renters in 2014, the average renter household spent $26 more per month in 2014 than in 2013, for a total of $312 more paid in rent this year compared to last, Zillow said. “Over the past 14 years, rents have grown at twice the pace of income due to weak income growth, burgeoning rental demand, and insufficient growth in the supply of rental housing,” said Zillow Chief Economist Stan Humphries. “This has created real opportunities for rental housing owners and investors, but has also been a bitter pill to swallow for tenants, particularly those on an entry-level salary and those would-be buyers struggling to save for a down payment on a home of their own.” Humphries said that increases in rent are only going to continue. “Next year, we expect rents to rise even faster than home values, meaning that another increase in total rent paid similar to that seen this year isn’t out of the question,” he said. “In fact, it’s probable.” Source: HousingWire

Most younger renters think owning is a more sensible housing choice for financial reasons, according to Fannie Mae’s National Housing Survey. Seventy-six percent of young renters, defined in this study as between 18 and 39, think owning makes more sense because they’re protected against rent increases, and owning can be a good investment over the long-term. “However, a large majority of young renters have remained pessimistic over the last few years about their ability to get a home loan; in contrast, younger owners have grown more optimistic,” says Sarah Shahdad, strategic planning analyst at Fannie Mae. “Demographic differences between younger renters and younger owners may explain part of the gap in attitudes.” Younger owners are more likely to fall in the higher end of the age range, earn more, and be employed full-time compared with younger renters, Shahdad notes. “The widening of that same gap during the last few years suggests that confidence in one’s ability to get a home loan is growing primarily among those who have already met financial requirements,” she notes. Young renters consider down payments and credit scores to be the top obstacles of getting a home loan. Also, the presence of student loans heightens the difficulty, they feel. But, young renters say, one day, they still plan to buy. “Enhanced housing education and alternative approaches to housing and savings may help renters fulfill their housing aspirations in a financially sustainable way,” Shahdad says. “Educational resources and tools may help renters make more informed decisions about their housing choices and begin managing their finances early and efficiently in order to fulfill their goals.” Also, promoting alternative paths to home ownership may help. Shahdad notes that about three-quarters of younger renters and owners said a lease-to-own arrangement would make renting more desirable to them since it would lead to home ownership. Source: Fannie Mae

Americans 55 years old and older are increasingly expected to begin trading residences as they near retirement, and that has many housing analysts and homebuilders predicting a surge in active-adult homes and communities that appeal to seniors. Homebuilders PulteGroup, Lennar, and Toll Brothers are reporting higher sales in this segment. Builders also are trying to lure this age group with multigenerational amenities, such as a separate private entrance, bedroom, bathroom, and eat-in kitchen attached to a traditional home. The National Association of Home Builders’ 55+ Housing Market Index also reflects greater optimism in the 55-plus housing market. This year, the index reached its highest second-quarter reading since it began in 2008, and it posted its 11th consecutive quarter of year-over-year gains. “One of the factors contributing to the positive signs in the 55+ housing market is the slow but steady increase in existing-home sales in the past several months,” says NAHB Chief Economist David Crowe. “The 55+ market is strongly driven by consumers being able to sell their existing homes at a favorable price in order to buy or rent in a 55+ community.” Source: Investors Business Daily